Neighborhood Fishin’ puts catfish in your backyard

Eager to crank the reel, 17-month-old Alona Moore alternated between sitting in her mother’s lap and snuggling in her father’s arms while they tried to hook a catfish.

“She’s never caught a fish. I can’t wait to see her,” said her father, Alonzo Moore.

The youngster’s attention, though, was divided between angling on the banks of Southside Lions Park and scampering into the child’s car seat sitting nearby on the ground.

“She likes it better when it’s not in the car,” her mother, Jasmine Boyer, explained with a laugh.

“It’s a nice park. She loves the playground,” said Moore, who lives just a few blocks away. “It’s great to have something we can do to get out of the house and have some family time outdoors — even if we don’t catch anything.”

That’s just what the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department aims to do with its Neighborhood Fishin’ program, a partnership with cities across the state.

To ensure positive angling experiences, officials stock 1,065 channel catfish every two weeks from April through October at the 7??1/2-acre pond. No stockings take place in August.

Southside Lions Park joined the program last fall with rainbow trout stocked from late November through March.

Another city park, Miller’s Pond, joined the program in 2007, and the smaller body of water receives 852 catfish every other week.

They are two of 14 lakes in eight urban areas that are part of Neighborhood Fishin’, which began as a pilot program in 2003 to bring fishing closer to people who may not have access to a big reservoir or own a boat.

Lakes in the program are located in nice parks that offer extra amenities such as playgrounds and restrooms, Van Zee said.

“Fishing for catfish or rainbow trout in these urban ponds is relatively inexpensive and easy,” he said. “The catfish run from 12 inches to upwards of 16 inches — nice catchable-size fish to bring home and have a meal with the family.”

Van Zee expects the program to continue adding more lakes in San Antonio and other areas.

Surveys indicated a high harvest rate, that more than half the anglers were youngsters or new to fishing and most of the fishermen live within 5 miles.

“It’s the closest place to fish. I come here at least twice a week,” Eusebio Talamantez said as he watched his line and relaxed in a chair in the shade of a towering cypress. “Today is a beautiful day to just kick back.”

“We always have a good time,” said Talamantez’s friend, Elias Baldera. “It’s great to get out of the house and get some fresh air.”

Bonifacio Jordan, who lives a couple of miles away from Southside Lions Park, stops by at least three times a week even though he makes frequent trips to the coast.

“I really enjoy getting in a couple of hours of fishing after work,” Jordan said.

His son, 4-year-old Angel, recently caught an 18-inch catfish at the pond.

“He was jumping up and down,” Jordan recalled with a grin.

Like Alona Moore, another young angler got hooked on Neighborhood Fishin’.

John Goodspeed is a freelance outdoors writer and photographer. Email john@johngoodspeed.com.